Intent on Decisive Battle! (Brothers, Please Keep Reading!!)

"We'll do as you say!" Ge Long agreed, immediately making the decision. "I'll personally oversee the feigned attack from the front. Every day at Chen Shi, the army will form up at the south gate of the defense city, adopting the posture of a decisive formation. The louder the better!"

In the following days, the same play unfolded daily inside and outside the defense city. The Heaven Dou army would form up for a feigned attack at Chen Shi, their drums thundering, but they always maintained the five-mile boundary, never crossing the line.

Chen Chu's small team operated under the cover of night, burning the enemy's grain and fodder, then cutting off their water supply, throwing Star Luo's supply lines into chaos.

Meanwhile, Star Luo's high-level Soul Masters were driven to exhaustion, constantly rushing about. Several times they attempted to push deep into the forest to clear it out, but were repelled by a combined force of lurking Soul Beasts and Heaven Dou soldiers hidden in the shadows, suffering heavy losses.

The Pamir Plateau advance stalled, and within the Star Luo Empire, the Emperor faced increasing pressure. The long-term maintenance of border troops was no simple matter. Voices throughout the empire called for the border army to produce results quickly, or else return to the capital and cease hostilities.

The leader of the Star Luo border army, Dai Jiangong, an eighty-second level Attack-type Soul Douluo, was a veteran general and an old rival of Heaven Dou Empire's Ge Long. He sat in his command tent, a worried expression on his face as he pondered countermeasures.

"Of course, there are also our own generals," he said. "Gentlemen, His Majesty's urgent order has arrived. He is questioning why, after several months, we are still on the edge of the Pamir Plateau, not moving an inch. He asks if we are reluctant to leave the land beneath our feet!"

Faced with Dai Jiangong's questioning, none of the generals below dared to speak. They were aware of the opposing strategy, but none could come up with a satisfactory solution.

Seeing the awkward silence, another old general, the chief on the right, could only speak up. "Marshal, the enemy's style of operation is Ge Long's style, but this particular strategy doesn't seem like his. However, there is one thing we can be absolutely certain of."

The old general paused, picked up a wooden stick, and pointed to the sand table. "The Heaven Dou Douluo is holed up in the defense city, relying on favorable terrain to engage us in a war of attrition, hoping to wear us down."

"To resolve this situation, there are only two options, but both come at a tremendous cost."

Having spoken, he looked at Dai Jiangong, awaiting his reply. He was the Emperor's man; if something went wrong, he would be the first to take responsibility.

Dai Jiangong naturally understood their concerns. He nodded and said, "Speak. Having a solution now is better than none."

With his approval, the old general continued, "The first method is our most common: a decapitation strike. We can ask His Majesty to send Titled Douluo, or the three of us can infiltrate the defense city and assassinate Ge Long. With the enemy leaderless, they will naturally collapse."

"However, the risk is very high. I hope the Marshal will reconsider!"

It was almost impossible to get His Majesty to send a Titled Douluo, so it was highly likely that the burden would fall on the three old bones. At his age, he wouldn't be fighting on the battlefield again if it weren't for his descendants.

Therefore, his preferred option was the second method. "The enemy is clearly unwilling to engage us in a decisive strategic battle by hunkering down in the defense city. However, this has always been their way. Since they refuse a decisive battle, we will take some risks and make our soldiers suffer. The main army will advance and force them into a decisive battle!"

Dai Jiangong's finger slammed down heavily on the location of the defense city on the sand table, his expression cold. "Then we will force them into a decisive battle! Send down the order: starting tomorrow, the entire army will camp three miles outside the defense city. Shield bearers will form triple ranks, Soul Master legions will advance to the front, and siege cannons will be moved up. We will begin the assault precisely at Si Shi tomorrow. The entire army will attack; do not hold back!"

The generals under the command exchanged shocked glances. The deputy general on the left couldn't help but speak up, trying to persuade him. "Marshal, a distance of three miles is too close. The Heaven Dou army's ballistae and cannons can cover us directly. The casualties among the soldiers will be..."

"Casualties?" Dai Jiangong's eyes shot up. The eighty-second level Attack-type Soul Rings around him lit up – eight rings of yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black – their oppressive aura making it difficult for everyone to breathe. "His Majesty wants results! If we delay any longer, our entire army will be recalled to the capital to face punishment!"

The old general silently retreated to the side. They were gambling that the Heaven Dou army would break under the assault and be forced out of the city for a decisive battle, gambling that Ge Long's army couldn't withstand a full-scale defense. But what he didn't mention were the recent unusual occurrences among the soldiers.

The next day, as dawn broke, Ge Long on the defense city walls saw the Star Luo army advancing like a dark tide. The shield formations moved like mobile walls, Soul Masters interspersed within the ranks, and even the siege cannons, usually kept in the rear, were pushed to the front.

"Excellent!" Ge Long clenched the saber at his waist. "Order all city gates: aim the cannons at the gaps in the shield formations, and have the ballistae shoot their rear-ranking Soul Masters. Do not let anyone near the city walls!"

With deafening drumbeats, the first wave of the Star Luo army's assault began. Attack-type Soul Masters, under the barrage of cannon fire, charged at the forefront, their Soul Skills relentlessly smashing against the defense city walls, sending gravel flying.

Agility-type Soul Masters, along with soldiers, used cloud ladders to climb the walls, continuously swarming over under the cover of smoke. The moat was instantly filled with corpses.

Ge Long stood on the battlements, his gaze sharp. Whenever the Star Luo army's assault was at its fiercest, he would personally intervene. With his sixth Soul Skill, "Earth-Splitting Dragon Roar," unleashed, swathes of Star Luo soldiers below were sent flying. The powerful Soul Skill fluctuations deterred the enemy's high-level Soul Masters from rashly approaching.

"General, the pressure on the east gate is too great, and the cannons are almost out of ammunition!" a blood-covered orderly ran over to report, his voice trembling.

Ge Long turned his head towards the east gate. Dense smoke billowed, and the sounds of fighting could be faintly heard. He gritted his teeth. "Tell the soldiers to hold on. I will send reinforcements!"

He still didn't know where the enemy's main force of high-level Soul Masters was. Each city gate was guarded by a Soul Sage-level expert. If he were to leave rashly and misjudge the situation, he would make a grave mistake.

Ge Long raised his hand and pressed it against the parapet of the city wall, his gaze sweeping over the smoke rising from the four city gates. He suddenly said in a deep voice, "Transmit my order: General Zhang from the west gate is to bring half of the Soul Masters to reinforce the east gate. Tell him he must hold the east gate!"

As the orderly was about to run off, Ge Long called him back. "Add this: take the reserve ammunition from the west gate as well. Cooperate with the suicide squad and prioritize smashing the Star Luo siege cannons!"

Just as the order was passed down, a loud explosion suddenly came from the south gate. The Star Luo army's siege cannons had blasted a gap of over ten feet wide in the city wall. Several Star Luo Soul Sages seized the opportunity, leading soldiers to charge in. Chen Chu was fighting against multiple opponents, locked in fierce combat with them.

"Damn it!" Ge Long cursed furiously. His Martial Soul, Yazi, suddenly possessed him, and eight Soul Rings – yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black – exploded outwards. With his seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Incarnation, the dragon son Yazi opened its mouth and roared, the sonic wave instantly blasting the Star Luo soldiers at the breach away. "Chen Chu, hold on! Old man is coming!"

Before Chen Chu could even respond, Ge Long leaped from the battlements. His eighth Soul Skill, "Yazi Heavy Sword," condensed his Soul Power, and he slammed his sword towards the few Star Luo Soul Sages at the forefront.

The Soul Sages' Martial Soul was the Iron Wall Bear. Caught off guard, they used their true forms to block the attack head-on, but they were repeatedly forced back by the Yazi Heavy Sword, their bodies bleeding.

"Ge Long! Your opponent is me!" Dai Jiangong's voice boomed from the rear of the formation. The pressure of his eighty-second level Soul Power enveloped everything as his White Tiger claws, whistling through the air, lunged towards Ge Long's back.